Death
Sunday 13th July
”Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9: 10.
There is nothing more common than death, it goes on all around us every day. Most of the time the obituary column contains only names but now and then one of our own family’s name appears, and it is certain that if things continue, in due time our name will also one day find its way to the obituary column.
In spite of the reality of death, it is common to find men and women living as if they would live forever. Perhaps because we are optimists, but more likely because we do not like to face unpleasant facts, we tend to put out of our minds the fact that we are walking steadily toward our grave. Most people seem to more or less drift along in the sea of humanity without any real goal until finally they spring a leak and sink into the grave. All their time, all their money, all their thinking has been devoted to trivial and unimportant details. Consider the topics of conversation that interest our, neighbors and fellow workers. Sports, TV, cars, vacations and such like. How true are the words of the hymn, ”vain his ambition, noise, and show, vain are the cares which rack his mind, he heaps up treasures mixed with woe, he dies and leaves them all behind.” This is the very thing Solomon is warning us against. Now is the time to find something to do and do it with our might. It isn’t nearly as important how long we live as how we live. Methuselah lived 969 years. Christ lived 33 years. We do not know what Methuselah did in all those years but look what Christ accomplished in only three and one half years of preaching.
As long as we are alive, there is work for us to do. It is our responsibility to find it and do it. There is more to it than this. We are to do it with our might. A half-hearted effort will not do. Today there is a tendency to do as little as possible to get by. The idea of doing something with our might is not even considered. Find out what the minimum standards are and aim there. The minimum standards for an entrance into God’s Kingdom is our best. Jesus told us, ”When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17: 10.
We need to remember that eternal life is the gift of God but He will only bestow it upon those who have served Him with their might. We know that there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave so we had better find a work to do now, and do it with our might. How much longer we have to live is not important. It is how we live the rest of our life that will determine Christ’s answer to us when he returns to reward every man according to his works.